Capping-machine.



J. A. $100k.

CAPPING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 14, 1916.

1 272,559. Patented July 16, 1918.

5 SHEETS-'SHEET I.

J. A. STOCK.

CAPPING MACHiNE. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 14. I916.

Patented July16, 1918.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

9 Q N\ Wm, w 2 m w m z a? J CAPPING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB.14, me.

1 72,559 Patented. July 16, 1918 5 SHEETSSHEET 3- J. A. STOCK.

CAPPING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 14, 1916.

Patented July 16, 1918.

5 SHEETSSHEET.4.

J. A. STOCK.

CAPPING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB-14.1916.

Patented July 16, 1918.

5 SHEETSSHEET 5- JULIUS A. STOCK, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO W. C. RITCHIE & COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

CAPPIN G-MACHIN E.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 16, 1918.

Application filed February 14, 1916. Serial No. 78,149.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JULIUS A. S'rocK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chi cago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Capping-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention involves the production of a machine for placing one or more of the flanged caps or covers on containers or receptacles, and more particularly concerns machines of this character which place round caps on similarly-shaped containers, one of the caps being held in place on the receptacle by adhesive, the other being unadhercd and capable of removal.

In the preferred embodiment of the illvention presented in the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and throughout the various views of which like reference cha-rcters refer to the same parts, a magazine is provided for the tubular bodies and one or more magazines for the caps or covers, these being fed individually and brought into assembled relation. Improved means are also provided for applying the adhesive to retain one of the caps in place and in addition means are used to facilitate the application of the caps to the ends of the tubular body. Other features of novelty and improvement in this particular embodiment of the invention will become apparent to those skilled inthis art from a consideration of the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description.

In these drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the machine;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the appliance;

Fig. 3 is a vertical of Fig. l;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged section on line 4-4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a face view of one of the abutments or stops;

Fig. 6 is an edge viewof the same;

section on line 33 Fig. '7 illustrates the shaping means for,

the caps;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged vertical section on line 8-8 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 9 is an enlarged vertical cross-section on line 9-9 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 10 shows in perspective one of the tubular bodies coated at one end with adhesive and the cap readv for application thereto, and

Fig. 11 is a perspective view of the tubular body with one cap in place and the opposite cap about to be applied.

The machine comprises a table-totp 10 supported on suitable legs 11, 11, and. at one end or at the back, the table is equipped with an adjustable magazine for holding the pasteboard or other tubes adapted. to form the bodies of the complete containers. Such magazine is composed of an end-wall member 12 having a foot 13 fastened to the table, as by bolts or screws. The companion endwall member 14 has a similar foot 15 adjustably secured to the table by a bolt or screw 16 extending through a slot 17 in such foot. The magazine also includes a frontwall 18, each end-wall on its inner-face hearing a bent adjustable angle-bar 12), 19, on which the tubes are adapted to rest. Suitably supported beneath the table-top is a rock-shaft 25 (Fig. 3) equipped with an upstanding arm 26 carrying at its upperend a curved tube-support 27 supplied with a stop-member 28 forming a shoulder and carrying a curved closure 29. As is shown in Fig. 3, the lowermost. tube in the magazinc is adapted to rest on the rockable support 27 hearing against shoulder 28. As the parts move forward to discharge such tube the bottom of the magazine is temporarily closed by the closure member 29 and as soon as the arm 27 rocks back the next tube drops into place on the member 27.

Shaft is oscillated by means of an arm 30 fixed thereto and having a toothed sector 31, the teeth of which are in mesh with those of a vertically-reciproca'ble rack 32 slidable in a bearing and supplied at. its lower end with a roller traveling in the groove of a. cam 3i pinned on the main-shaft 35 journaled in the lower-part of the machineframe and rotated by a motor 36 on the' table-top by'means of a belt 37 co-acting with the motor-pulley and a pulley 38 on the end of a stub-shaft 38 geared to the shaft A handle 39 actuates a clutch 40 of the usual type to connect the pulley to and disconnect it from its shaft.

Just in front of the tube magazine, there is a glue or paste vessel 41. secured to the table-top. The bottom-wall of such vessel has a stutfing box 42, (Fig. 3), through which a rod 43 slides, the latter at its top end carrying a horizontal rail or bar 44 located just inside one of the longitudinal side-walls of the vessel. Rod 43 slides in a bearing 45 and is connected at its lower end by a link 46 to one arm of a bell-crank lever 47 fulcrumed at 48, the other arm of such lever having a roller 49 co-acting with a cam 50 on shaft 35. At its opposite side the glue vessel is supplied with a horizontallyadjustable, stationary rail 51 carried on two rods 52 and 53 slidably adj ustably supported in two bearing-blocks 54 and 55 mounted on the table-top.

A standard 56 is bolted to the table-top at 57, 57, and on this standard a bracket member 58 is vertically adjustably secured by means of screws or bolts 59, 59. At each end the supporting-member 58 has a yoke 60 and 61, the former having bearings accommodating a shaft 62 on which a pulley or roller 63 is mounted. The companion yoke 61 has similar bearings for a shaft- 64 carrying a drum or pulley 65, a belt 66 passing around both pulleys. In order to prevent the lower stretch of the belt from arching upwardly a plate 67 is positioned above such portion of the belt, being mount ed on an arm 68 fastened to the member 58. These pulleys and the coiiperati'n'g belt are caused to operate intermittently in one direction only to roll the tubes positively along the rails or bars 44 and 51 from the former of which they receive a small body or ring of adhesive at one end.

This actuating-means comprises a pinion 69 on the end of shaft 62, the teeth of which coiiperate with those of a rack 70 vertically slidable'in a bearing 71' at the top of a standard 72 bolted to the table-top, the rack being bent at 73 and extending downwardly through an aperture in the table, being guided in its reciprocations by a lower bearing 74. At its upper end this bar has its teeth 70 cotiperating with the pinion 69 and at its lower end it has a rack portion 75 on its opposite edge cotiperating with a gear 76 revolubly mounted and rigid with a pinion 77 in mesh with the teeth of a-rack 7 8 guided by a bearing 79 and recipro'cated by a cam 80 on shaft 35. The pinion 69 is loose on shaft 62 and is connected to the shaft by means of a ball clutch member 81 which. operativel'y connects the pinion to the shaft when the rack is-descending, and permits a free rise of the rackwithout oscillation of the shaft. In this waythe two pulleys 63 and 65 together with their companion belt are periodically actuated in such direction asto advance the pasteboard cubes in'the manner specified.

At the front end of the glue vessel 41 two bars 81 and 82 are mounted on a shaft 83 oscillatory in bearings on the vessel, the

,evaaso positions of such arms being regulated by a vertically-adjustable bar 84. Upon leaving the rails 44 and 51 the tube rolls down the bars 81 and 82 into a socket or saddle member 85 vertically adjustable and held in the desired position by a set-screw 86. To assist in guiding these tubes, a depending arm or finger 87 is mounted on the yoke 61 and is shown possibly most clearly in Fig. 3.

An endless conveyer 88 advances the round flanged caps to a curved chute 89 composed of two side-members 90 connected together by a pair of cross-rods 91, 92., On these rods there are adjustably mounted two oppositely-facing curved angle bars 93, 93, carrying two curved plates 94, and96, acting in conjunction with a suitably-supported, central curved bar 95, to retain the caps in the chute. The bottom of the chute is equipped with a stop 97 held in adjusted position by aset-screw 98. The caps pass down'through the curved passage 89, the lowermost one coming to rest on the stop 97, and just back of it in this position are four spring-pressed hinged wings 99, 99, which act to hold the cap temporarily in pmation. but as will be explained below, they permit the passage of the cap between tin-m.

the wings bending out of the way.

The rims or flanges of these caps are some times somewhat distorted in shape. not be ing perfectly round, and it is desirable to bring them to substantially perfect circular shape to facilitate the assemb y of the cap with the tube body. This is act-our plished by means of two arc-shaped mem- "berslOO and 101, pivoted to the stop 97 at These shaping members are'opened when the lowermost cap in the chute falls on to the stop 97 and are then closed to shape the flange. Their actuating means comprises a cam 103 on shaft 35 with the periphery of which the roller 104 of a lever 105 fulcrumed at 106 coiiperates the end of such lever being connected by two rods 107 and 108 to the companion members 100 and 101,. as shown in Fig. 7. As soon as the lowermost cap drops on to the member 97 its flange or rim is squeezed by the. closing members 100 and 101 to proper circular shape.-

A member 109 is slidingly mounted at 110 on. the table-top and carrles at one end a divided ring 111 the interior of which is eguipped with a detachable annular series o eedgeofacam' m cap drops down into place, member 109 and the spring fingers 112 are retracted, and they then travel forwardly so that the fspring fingers enter the cap, as shown in Fig. 4, ready for the assembling with the tubular body.

A hollow plunger 119 is mounted concentrio with the spring fingers 112 on a shaft 120 slidable in a bearing 121, the shaft being arm 131 carrying a plate 132 with a central boss 133, an abutment-plate 134 being also provided which rests against the boss 133 and is connected to the plate 132 by a number of bolts 135 extended through apertures of the plate, permitting the abutment-plate 134 to rock slightly out of its true vertical plane.

In order to limit the expansion of the fingers 112 and to maintain them all concentric and sufficiently converged-to properly enter the container cap adjacentjto the resting position of the latter, a stationary ring 136 is provided with the inner edge of whlch the sprlng fingers co-act in the manner indicated. This ring also prevents the cap from falling forwardly toward the tube with which'it is to be assembled.

This art of the appliance operates substantial y as follows: After the pasteboard tube has rolled along the rails 44 and 51 and had the glue applied near one end by the rail 44, it travels down the bars 81 and 82 into the stationary saddle 85. A cap having already dropped into the position shown in .Fig. 4, the slide 109 advances, carrying the fingers 112 into the cap, these fingers projecting through the ring 136,

as illustrated, the cap having also been prevlously squeezed by the members 100 and 101 to true circular shape. The plunger 119 now advances and by means of an air blast delivered through the passage 130 and the tube pushes the cap against the spring retainers 99. The advance end of' the tube, as the latter is fed or moved by the plunger, is guided into the interior of the cap by the fingers'and after it has well entered, continued movement of the tube carries the cap with -it, forcing back the retainers 99 and bringing the cap against the abutment-plate 134, se-

curing complete application of the cap, the tube passing through the series of spring 'fingers,112, as will be readily understood.

a connecting hose 168.

cap or cover chute 141, a coiiperating set of pivoted spring-actuated retainers 142,142, a stop or rest 143 to which are pivoted at 144 the arcuate shaping members 145 and 146 having oppositely-extended arms 147 and 148, the ends of which by means of rods 149 are connected to the end of a lever 150 ful crumed at 151, the other end of such lever projecting into an aperture of lever 105, so

that the oscillation of the latter causes the rocking of the former and the opening and closing of the members 145 and 146 in proper timed relation to the actuation of the other parts of the mechanism. This part of the appliance also includes a split ring 152 with its detachable group of converging spring fingers 153 oppositely arranged, however, to the fingers 11 V This portion of the machine also comprises an apertured reciprocating plunger 154 on a.

shaft 155 slidable in a bearing 156 and operated by a lever 157 rockingly mounted at 158 and connected by a link 159 to a lever 160 fulcrumed at 161 and oscillated by a roller traveling in a grooveof cam 162 on shaft 135. Plunger 154 in this instance, instead of having a single central air outlet, has three converging discharge openings 154 154, 154, the compressed air issuing from which is adapted to pass outside of the tube and striking the cover or cap, hold it back against the retainers 142, that is, hold it from falling forwardly. The compressed air is supplied from the pump 128 by means of The slide 163 carrying the spring-fingers 153 is reciprocated by a spring-pulled lever 164 fulcrumed at 165 and carrying at its lower end a roller 166 co-acting with the periphery of cam 162. An abutment or stop 167 in the path of travel of the cap and tube is also employed.

A right-angle supporting-member 169is positioned to hold the tube with the one cap on it in alinement with the plunger 154, and the fingers 153, such support being of sufficient width to be beneath the tube and cap when they engage the abutment 134 so that as soon as the plunger 119 begins to recede the released tube with the cap on one end drops on the inclined member 169 and rolls" down to its shoulder'in proper position for receiving the other end cap. As is illustrated, plunger 154 is cut away or shaped to conform to member 169.

The second cap having descended in the chute 141 into position, the ends of the fingers 153 enter it, the plunger 154 advances and causes the openend of the tube to enter the cap, continued movement of these parts carrying the tube, now closed at both ends, against the abutment 167, insuring a complete application of the cap over the end, the tube passing through the series of springfingers as in the previous instance. As soon as the plunger 154: begins to recede the capped receptacle drops out of the Way.

other embodiments, differing more or less from the present one, are possible. Or, stated somewhat differently, many mechanical changes may be made in the machine illustrated and described Without departure from the substance of the invention and without sacrifice of any of its substantial benefits and advantages.

I claim:

1. In a machine of the character described, the combination of means to support a flanged cap including one or more spring-actuated retaining elements for the cap, converging guiding means adapted to project into the cap while the latter is re tained in position by said retaining element or elements, and means to push a body tube into said cap through said guiding means and past said retaining element or elements, said guiding means facilitating the assembly of said tube and cap, substantially as described.

2..In a machine of the character described, the combination of means to support a flanged-cap, means to shape the rim of said flanged-cap, an abutment, converging guiding means adapted to project into the cap, and means to push a body tube into such cap through said guiding means and carry said cap against the abutment. said guiding means facilitating the assembly of such tube and cap, substantially as described.

3. In a machine of the character described, the combination of means to support a flanged-cap including one or more Spring actuated retaining-elements for the cap, an abutment, converging guiding means adapted to project into the cap While the latter is maintained in position, by said retaining element or elements, and means to push a body tube into said cap through said guiding means and past said retaining-element or elements and carry said cap against said abutment, said guiding means facilitating the assembly of said tube and cap, substantially as described.

4. In a machine of the character described, the combination of means to move a body tube and a flanged-cap relatively to one another to assemble them, an abutment, spring-actuated retaining-elements for the cap, and a series of converging fingers to facilitatc such assembly and adapted to project into the cap While the latter is maintained in position by said retaining-elements, the yielding of such retaining-elements permitting the tube to pass by said fingers and carry the cap against the abutment, substantially as described.

5. In a machine of the character described, the combination of two magazines for flanged caps, converging guiding fingers in register With and adapted to enter a cap of one of said magazines, a first abutment. means to force a body tube through said fingers into said cap and against said abutment, a conveyer adapted to carry the capped tube into alinement with a cap of the second magazine. a second group of com-'erging guiding fingers in register with and adapted to enter said second cap, a second abutment, and means to force said capped tube through said latter fingers and into said cap and carrying the latter against said abutment, substantially as described.

(5. In a machine of the character described, the combination of two magazines for flanged caps, converging guiding fingers in register vith and adapted to enter a cap otone of said magazines, means to force a body tube through said fingers into said cap, a conveyer adapted to carry the capped tube into alinement with a cap of the second magazine, converging guiding fingersin register with and adapted to enter said second cap, and means to force said tube through said latter fingers and into said second cap, substantially as described.

7. In a machine of the character described, the combination of an adhesive-bath vessel, a rail, means to move said rail to submerge it into the adhesive-bath and raise it into operative position, means to cause a body'tube to roll on said rail and receive therefrom a supply of adhesive, and means to apply a flanged cap over the adhesivecoated end'ot the tube, substantially as described.

8. In a machine of the character described, the combination of means to support a flanged-cap, a plunger adapted to push a body-tube into-said cap, and an air-blast means adapted to act through said tube on said cap to hold it in position, substantially as described.

9. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a rail, an adhesive bath vessel, means to lower said rail into said adhesive bath and raise it into operative position, means to feed tubes to said rail when the latter is in such elevated position, means above the rail adapted to roll the tubes thereon, and means to intermittently actuate said rolling means in one direction only, substantially as describet'l.

10. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a rail, an adhe-- sive bath vessel, means to lower said rail into said adhesive bath and raise it into on erative position, means to feed tubes to the rail when the latter is in such elevated position, an endless belt above the rail adapted to contact with the tubes and roll them on the rail, and means to actuate said endless belt intermittently in one direction only, substantially as described.

JULIUS A. STOCK. 

